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From: A Dire Hell
Newsgroups: alt.zen,alt.philosophy.zen,talk.religion.buddhism
Subject: Re: Phoney Zen
Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 13:28:25 -0400
Organization: IDT
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David O wrote:
> >A single blade of grass contains all the buddhist cannons.
> >A true teacher sees a single blade of grass as buddhas
> >sword. A crying baby is dharma treasure.
The above passage is essentially based on Tendai *hongaku* doctrine,
viz., that finite things and conditions are Buddha-nature. Overall,
whether or not hongaku belief is true has been the subject of much
dabate in some Buddhist schools beginning with Chi-t'sang (549-623), of
the San-lun school. He was the first to use the phrase "attainment of
Buddhahood by plants and trees". During the same period, continuing this
thought, Hui-yuan (523-592) made a distinction between 2 kinds of
Buddha-nature the first called the "known" possessed by sentient and
non-sentient beings and secondly the "knowing" who have a Mind to aspire
to Buddhahood.
In Japan Shingon's Kuukai (774-835) was the first to directly enter into
the debate about whether or not "plants and trees" have Buddha-nature.
Following this debate, the Tendai scholar Ryoogen (912-985) held that
the stages of organic growth were the same as the Bodhisattva stages
leading to Buddhahood. E.g., 1) Budding is aspiration, 2) Growing is
training, 3)Fruiting is enlightenment, 4) Dying is Nirvana. This
pattern according to Ryoogen even extends to "mountains and rivers".
Another scholar (Chuujin [1065-1138]) maintained that trees and plants
had each their own unique 32 marks of an enlightened being. But then
Shooshin (1199-1204), another scholar, argued that "plants and trees"
cannot attain Buddhahood, and reminded his fellow disputants that no
Sutra of Shastra claims such.
What this all boils down to involves the definition of "sentient being"
(Skt., sattva) and does its proper definition allow it to be extended to
"plants and trees" - or even geological forms and forces. By any
canonical measure hongaku belief in its present Japanese form reflects
more the disposition of Japanese culture than Buddhism. Let me also say
that hongaku belief is not Zen, although Doogen introduced it into Zen.
Doogen's radical support of hongaku belief, in no small measure, altered
Zen, obscuring its Chinese/Mahayana character.
Donkey's jowls are the Buddha (Doogen),
A